Click on Picture to Buy “The Other Side of Down” by David Archuleta at Amazon.com

Click on Picture to Buy “Chords of Strength” at Amazon.com

Click on Picture to Buy “Christmas From The Heart” By David Archuleta at Amazon.com

David Archuleta Wikipedia

David James Archuleta (born December 28, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. At ten years old, he won the children's division of the Utah Talent Competition leading to other television singing appearances.[6] When he was twelve years old, Archuleta became the Junior Vocal Champion on Star Search 2.[6] In 2007, at sixteen years old, he became one of the youngest contestants on the seventh season of American Idol.[7] In May 2008 he finished as the runner-up, receiving 44 percent of over 97 million votes.

Charities David Supports

Posts Tagged ‘hope’

This is a partial drawing of David Archuleta by @jPaleFOD who posted it on Twitter. Even though it is unfinished, it gave me so much to think about. The Shakespeare quote, “The Eyes are the windows to your soul” came to mind, as the eyes are the most prominent feature in this sketch of David. Sketch: “a simply or hastily executed drawing or painting, especially a preliminary one, giving the essential features without the details.” (Definition by Dictionary.com.) I was also struck by the impression that this image could reveal or even represent where David is, in his journey back to a professional career.

Being away from the normal existence of family and friends can bring on a feeling of isolation. The rest of the world is absent in your day to day life. Even if you are in a place where you have a purpose, such as a mission for your faith, it can be difficult to feel a connection to what had meant the most to you before. Responsibility for guiding others on a path that you know well, but one that they may not grasp right away, can bring you into unfamiliar territory. Doubt is your constant companion. How do you get someone to believe as you believe when they do not yet have the same touchstones in faith? Are you equipped with adequate words to bring them into your fold? In the end, will you ever know if you made a difference in their lives?

Have you changed how you view the way things are? Your growth in all areas is a sign that you have learned some lessons about trusting your intuition. These are life lessons that come from experiences not taught by books, but by interacting with people whose actions need deciphering. You have gained the maturity to know who is on your side, and those who only want something from you. A life once lived in a bubble may not relate to a life now lived in harsh reality. You experience so much of life surrounding you that seems fake. Your craft could be the only thing you trust. It is the one true constant. Regardless of the isolation you now feel inside your craft, it sustains your creative nature. It is one of the things you trust to carry you forward in your life. There is no hesitation where music is concerned. You are a believer in the power and emotion that takes over your being when you sing.

Knowing your truth is the first step on your journey back to your true calling of music. You discovered that what you accomplished on your mission of faith is tied closely to your mission of music. It is the belief in yourself and the confidence of the powers of your craft that sustains you and will carry you forward. Using your voice to touch those willing to feel the emotion and be healed, is your Gift. Use it wisely David, and all your heartfelt dreams will be realized.

While David was away on his mission he released two albums; “No Matter How Far” and “Begin”. From “No Matter How Far”, we have heard Wait, Everything And More, and Love Don’t Hate performed live. I’ve always wondered if I would have the opportunity someday to hear some of the others live too. For example, Nothing Else Better To Do, Tell Me, Heart Falls Out, Notice Me and Don’t Run Away. Don’t Run Away being at the top of my list.

What a surprise when he performed it live at Rootstech. David’s simple introduction, “I’ve never sung this next song live before, but here we go”. I recognized it immediately and just couldn’t believe it. It’s the performance I watch the most from that day. It’s David singing from his soul, the passion and cry in his voice reaching out to all.

A music video was also released while he was away which had a million views. A simple but beautiful sequence of drawings by Kylie Malchus fit the song perfectly. I was saddened that she wasn’t able to get into the conference hall at Rootstech especially since little did she know that “Don’t Run Away” was going to be performed live.

It currently has 943,801 views!

Don’t Run Away Lyrics

When something’s wrong
And too much to handle
Try to find some peace of mind
Let it go.
Wait a minute, you know this road
It’s gonna leave you on overload, yeah
‘Cause somebody cares, yeah

I can see you hurting (turn around)
I will be right there
Don’t run away, don’t run away, don’t run away
When I reach out to you, look around
I will be right here
Don’t run away, don’t run away, don’t run away
Tonight

Don’t make a sound
I’ll be your voice
You don’t need to be afraid
Anymore
I’ll shine a light out in the dark
Guide you here no matter how far

Oh, yeah
‘Cause somebody cares, oh yeah

I can see you hurting, (turn around)
I will be right there
Don’t run away, don’t run away, don’t run away
When I reach out to you, look around
I will be right here
Don’t run away, don’t run away, don’t run away

Open up, let it all out tonight, yeah
Open up, and everything will be alright

I can see you hurting, (turn around)
I will be right there
Don’t run away, don’t run away, don’t run away
When I reach out to you, look around
I will be right here
Don’t run away, don’t run away, don’t run away

Turn around, don’t run away, don’t run away
I will be right here, oh
Tonight, tonight

A photo posted by David Archuleta (@davidarchie) on Mar 23, 2015 at 7:05pm PDT

David Archuleta Mission Return: One Year Later

by Kristin, Guest Writer for The Voice

Today, March 24th marks at least one year since David has returned from serving his two-year mission. Like everyone else, I was so happy to see him back and thankful he got back to his family safely.

It’s amazing how much time flies sometimes. From heading or transferring to a new college, weddings, graduations, birthdays, whatever else may have happened to all of us in the past year, we aren’t the same as we were prior.

For me, 2014 was a difficult year. Lost weight, lost my cat, a second episode of depression…so much heartache and pain. David being back didn’t seem to alleviate all of my struggles, but it gave me a distraction from everything for a while.

Regardless of those struggles, none of us are the same since David came back a year ago. Some of us have stayed to wait it out; some of us have left or moved on for whatever reason. Some of us chose to believe and have faith when, to others, it just seemed impossible.

I’ve been reflecting the past few days as I write this. Having my spring break last week and taking some initiative with where I wanted to go in my life, I’ve seen how much I’ve grown and changed in the past year. I am definitely not the broken girl who had hit rock bottom with her faith and with everything around her a year ago. Just like David has grown, adjusted, and taken time to reconnect with himself, with his life. Not just his life, but his music, what he wants to say to his fans in that music, what he wants to say to the world…and what he wants to say for himself.

At times we got frustrated with him; I’ve had my moments too. Other times, we were excited for him, wondering about where he would take his career next after being away for two years. We worried about if he’s changed so much since those two years away, and if, due to his silence, if he even still wanted a career.

Well, I know one thing from what I’ve observed of David.

He doesn’t give up so easily.

In today’s music industry where we have—people who shall remain nameless—we need people like David to give us hope in good people, to make us feel good and inspired, and also to give us a chance to grow and change from what we learn from him or learn about ourselves.

I know, for me, and people who know me probably know this part of the story, but David was my light in a dark place. That unexpected/unanswered prayer who…

…switched something on in me again. Lit up something in me again that was snuffed out prematurely.

For a lot of us, life changed the very first time we saw David. For me, it took him going away for two years to make me really take a step back and realize what I was truly blessed with, what God placed in my life when I didn’t even ask for it.

A young man around my age, shy like me, who just wanted to do what he loved to help people. Someone that actually cared about the platform he was given, someone who wasn’t afraid to stand up for what mattered to him, and someone who was willing to take a step back himself with his life, and learn something he had to learn in order to move forward.

I’ve been afraid of disappointment, of being let down. Some people have thought that of David during the past year, and I can understand. When going through my personal demons, I struggled with my connection with David, letting other people bother me and letting doubts run my life…

…until I realized enough was enough.

Now, on this March 24th, I am still Kristin. I haven’t changed that much, but I’ve been healing. Taking it one day at a time with myself and with what David plans to do with his career and music next. The news last night of an announced concert has gotten us all hopeful again, excited for the future.

For me…it feels so close in this battle of personal doubts and fears from the past five years, trying to gain the courage to finally see, for myself, a man who has been such a gift in my life, who made me wake up and see where I was and the potential I have to do good, just as he has even before becoming famous.

To look him in the eyes and say, “You got me through the toughest years of my life.”

To hug him, have a picture with him, and see for myself that this has been worth it all this time.

Just as David is worth it…and was worth waiting for, and fighting for.

Pattirae was lucky enough to attend Friday night’s charity event in Utah for Rising Star Outreach in which David performed six songs. And we are the lucky recipients of her recap below.

Hello everyone,

I can’t even believe what I am about to tell you today but I was there last night to hear our “glorious” David and precious Lexi perform at the Rising Star Outreach event. When David opened his set with “The Riddle” I started to cry. I was not expecting that and it was amazing to me to experience how much I had missed him and how absolutely beautiful his voice was to hear in person again.

My husband’s cousin Ron (on the board of directors for RSO) called us last week to invite us to this wonderful event. He knows of my love for all things David and I will forever be grateful for his generosity and love. It was so good to be with Ron, his wife Kay, and their daughter Lauren and husband.

We were sitting close to the front and by a warm fire pit outside by a swimming pool. David was getting cold after his set so they pulled up some chairs for him and Lexi to sit by the fire AND right in front of us. I have a picture of his back and him reaching his hand back to feel some heat by the fire. I could have touched him—but refrained myself. Haha

Lexi’s set was incredible and they sang a few songs together. I have some videos but don’t know how to transfer them here from my phone. HELP!! He told of his experience in India when the children sang “Somebody Out There” to him, the song he had written for THEM. When he then sang it you could hear a pin drop. Unbelievable!! (yes, I shed a few tears then also.)

When he said he was going to sing “Glorious” everyone cheered. It was so exciting! It was also fun to hear him sing “Stand By Me” again. After a short video and some speaking about RSO he and Lexi got up from where they were sitting by us to sing their last song together, “Prayer of the Children.”

Giving Lexi, Kendra Lowe, and David flowers

They took some professional pictures at the end with David and Lexi and guess what? My husband Delos and I were the first ones to have our picture taken with him. He saw us with Ron and remembered us from other events we have shared with him and Ron (and maybe the million times I have had my picture taken with him at Meet and Greets!!)

Waiting to take pictures

credit rgunnell1

Anyway, I just have to say that his voice is better than ever, and he is so handsome that I had a very difficult time looking at him and talking to him. :)

I loved meeting Gwen, who was sitting beside me. She flew in from Dallas for the event and we soon learned of our groupie status with each other. She was so much fun taking videos and pictures the whole time (we were almost the only ones being so bold.) I was so glad to hear from Kari that some video will show up from the event.

Can I just say also how fun it was to see Kendra again. She is so beautiful and so talented. The whole evening was a dream come true and one I will remember forever.

A video posted by David Archuleta (@davidarchie) on Oct 25, 2014 at 7:08pm PDT

davidarchie
2 hours ago
I was listening to @leximaewalker at sound check for last night’s event for #RisingStarOutreach. Here she was singing the Disney song ‘God Bless the Outcasts’ from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Wow! This 12 year-old little gal fills your heart and soul with her voice. It was great getting to perform with her last night and with the beautiful backdrop of the mountains.

Although David was already on his mission and out of the public eye when I first became aware of the amazing person he is, I sympathize with fans who are desperate to have him back.

How does our desperation feel? I think David can tell us. The other morning as I was listening to my iPod, Desperate came up on the playlist. Although I had listened to this song many times, this was the first time I really heard it. And what I heard was incredible. David actually conveyed the feeling of desperation through his voice!

◊

This is how I think he did it, but I want to mention two things before I get to David’s vocals. The first is the instrumental background: piano, throbbing drumbeat, and electronic sounds which are mostly loud, and frequently relentless and chaotic. This does not give David much opportunity for subtlety in dynamics or tempo.

Second is the lyrics. Desperate is not a profound song. The word “desperate” is used 13 times, 14 if you count the title. The chorus is repeated four times, leaving only three short sections of narrative to describe the subject’s emotional state. The first two sections convey his isolation and absolute despair; the third, his realization that he can change. Because David always strives for a positive message, despair actually turns to hope at the end of the second section when he sings, “It’s your life; it’s time you face it.” This line divides the song into two parts.

So, how does David do it? How does he express absolute despair, then the possibility of hope?

In the first part of the song, he keeps his voice in its lower register, which communicates a feeling of seriousness and heaviness, and contributes to the idea of despair. By staying in the lower register, his voice cannot soar into higher, brighter notes. Also, David clips the notes, and even exhales a little breath as he ends some of them. These clipped notes distinctly separate the words from one another, suggesting isolation, which in turn reinforces the sense of despair. The only time there is even a foreshadowing of hope is in the words “believin'” and “light” in the chorus. When David sings these words, he holds the notes instead of clipping them, thus entertaining the eventual possibility of hope replacing despair.

This possibility of hope is evident in the second part of the song. As David sings, “it’s time you face it,” he leaves his lower register and goes into his higher register. In addition, he holds the note on “it” instead of clipping it. In the lines, “You know that things have gotta change/ You can’t go back, you find a way/ And day by day, you start to come alive,” David’s voice steadily ascends the scale and his dynamics increase. When he sings “alive,” he holds this very high note for several beats and puts some runs into it as well, providing a bright sound. Ironically, “desperate” is sung ten times in this “hopeful” part of the song, but sung near or at the top of David’s range. In addition, he extends these repetitions of “desperate” by holding them for several beats. All of these vocal techniques contribute to the sense of despair, followed by the sense of hope, that David conveys through his interpretation of the song.

I always thought this song was a first-person account of desperation, that the lyrics were those of a person talking to himself. Thanks to some YouTube comments, I realized the lyrics could be addressed to a second person. I believe either interpretation holds up, although I prefer the first-person interpretation because it makes the intensity of the desperation more immediate and personal, which David definitely does.

Kirailah rolon: Lol Why Would He Be Desperate He Is Hot

HeartSettoLove: Because hot people have crap in their life happen too :p

And NarutoPHC replies to Kirailah with the third-person perspective: Lol he is singing about the girl being desperate :P

I love becoming aware of aspects of David for the first time, as in this example of Desperate. I find it remarkable that a 17-year-old was able to convey feelings of desperation and hope so convincingly. David’s musical abilities and exceptional character continue to astound me.

And because I’m still learning about him and from him, I’m not utterly desperate to have him back yet. And no one else should be either, because David will be back soon!

As you all know I’m a voting, commenting, viewing, anything to get David’s name out there junkie lol. I put up the occasional link for you all to see and join in if possible. Some do some don’t, either is fine, doesn’t make any fan better than another. I try to touch everything put out relating to David but even in his absence it’s hard to do. So I pick and choose what are the best promo opportunities IMO and go at it :)

This leads me to the Ryan Seacrest poll. Will Seacrest debut or play David’s single or any other of his songs? Not likely but not impossible. Seacrest is viewed and followed by not only fans of almost every artist but also the media, music and news alike. So I put this poll as the #1 priority. And after seeing these tweets I feel this is more than a mindless poll. I believe this will show the interest in David is still strong and that his fans are here waiting for him.

Some of you know about what happened with my older son, but most of you do not. None of this was David related until he announced the mission. It was then that a cycle of pain and loss restarted in my heart, and now, after many weeks of processing it all, I felt compelled to share it, with the hope that it may help someone.

My oldest child, now age 12, was diagnosed with Autism at the age of two-and-a-half. He was a healthy baby and was developing normally until 16 months, when he received 4 vaccinations during a routine office visit. Within one week of that day he lost all his words, eye contact, and started to have severe bowel issues. I am not trying to start a debate about vaccines, I am just telling you what happened to my child. Thus began our journey into the pit of despair and heartache. Several doctors, tests, and hours of research later we began to understand what we could do to begin to try to heal his physical and sensory problems.

The first step was special education preschool. The district here that diagnosed him told us that he would never speak, dress himself, never be able to live alone or have a relationship. We were told to start looking into long-term care options. Words cannot describe the loss and devastation that we felt. I’ll never forget the first day of preschool. I had to take him there; I just couldn’t let him take the school bus; he just looked so tiny. I dropped him off, both of us sobbing. The teacher had to block the door to keep him from getting out. I went out to my car and cried and cried and cried. I didn’t want to take him there. He was supposed to be home with me. Did he know I was coming back for him? Did he understand what I told him about school and that it would help him? Would it even help him? I trusted no one. Who were they to tell me what my child’s future would be? I sat there in the parking lot in my car sobbing. When I finally went in to get him I was so relieved. He seemed fine. The thought of doing it again the next day was too much to think about.

His preschool day was two-and-a-half hours every morning. The longest two-and-a-half hours you could ever imagine. In the meantime we were working on special diets, vitamins, sensory therapy and lab tests to help with the bowel issues. I thanked God for credit cards and that we were able to get high credit limits. Everything we tried with him was very successful and immediate. We did everything outside of mainstream medicine with the help of a doctor who I know is an angel. We went through about 15 doctors before we found her. The preschool was awesome, and it truly was needed to help him catch up on things he had missed. But having him gone everyday, even though it was just the half day, was very depressing. It was a true loss. Then after preschool would come elementary school. I would never get those preschool years back.

I never did get those years back. But what I did get was something even greater. Our son began to speak again. He began to interact with us. He was able to handle sensory input. He has been in a regular classroom setting since Kindergarten. He continued with speech therapy through 3rd grade. He was able to stop the special diet after 5 years. He is now in 7th grade and has all A’s in school. He scored within his grade level on the MEAP test two years in a row now. He has friends, sleepovers, normal relationships and is an awesome big brother.

Over time I began to accept that this journey with my son was somehow meant to be. I ended up working at the sensory clinic that helped him so much. I was able to talk to and give hope to thousands of parents. I was able to work with the children and see them progress. I have been witness to the restoration of my son’s health and well-being. I have come from the depths of despair to the triumph of redemption.

When David announced his mission I was in shock. The next morning I cried for six hours. I had not cried like that since that morning at preschool. All the feelings of loss and fairness and right and wrong and why and how came rushing back. I was losing my baby again. I know he’s not a baby, and he’s not mine, but you all know and understand that is exactly what it feels like. Much like taking my son to that preschool, this was something that had to be done despite how I felt about it. It was going to happen, and all my tears and frustration were no match for it. I came to accept that just as I took my son and handed him over to strangers, I had to support David in his choice because what is best for me is not necessarily the best for him. I could have not sent my son to preschool and kept him home with me. But I had to do what was best for him, despite my own pain.

For those of you that have not experienced a loss, and even for those who have, David’s leaving is devastating. The routine and activities of the last 4 years will change. We will have to find a new normal. And we will. Nothing will stop what is meant to be for David. We must be strong and have faith that the future will bring nothing but the best of times for all of us. My journey with my son taught me that even though things seem impossible you can never give up hope.

We cannot get back the two years that he will be away. What we can do is be here to support one another, buy whatever music comes out, and take good care of the love we have in our hearts for him. One by one we were chosen to be on this journey, for reasons we may never know. His voice took root in our hearts. His spirit made our own start to blossom. Now we must tend to the garden while he is away.